Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. X-Men ’97 returned with the first few episodes of season two last week. We didn’t cover the animated series when it first launched because we were in the middle of writing our Supergirl review. We’ve had time to watch each of these episodes. I may be joined by Season in this post. Woo hoo! I can’t wait to talk about X-Men ’97 Season Two’s first few episodes. We’ll be releasing separate posts for each of the released episodes (four in total), so let’s begin with “Days of Past Future.”

Kyra’s Take

Geekly hadn’t returned when X-Men ’97’s first season originally aired, so I may take a quick moment to discuss the series as a whole. X-Men ’97 is a joy. I love how they brought back most of the cast and the creative team behind the scenes of the original Nineties X-Men Animated Series. This show mainlines Nineties nostalgia. With the exception of a few modifications, like a new voice actor for Rogue, who took some getting used to, X-Men ’97 captured the original’s charm. X-Men’s animation hadn’t aged the best, and while X-Men ’97 updated the animation style, it kept most of the visuals intact. Fantastic.

I also liked how X-Men ’97’s first season picked up right where the original X-Men Animated Series ended. This makes X-Men ’97 a continuation of the original. This is not a reboot. Sort of. And I liked how the showrunners decided to incorporate characters who were introduced (in the comics) during the original show’s run. Mild spoiler ahead. The first season’s main villain, Bastion, wouldn’t have been in the original X-Men Animated Series run because he was too new a character. Still, he fits into the animated series because the X-Men comic book was wildly popular in the early to mid-Nineties. Say what you will about X-Men #1’s role in the comic book collection market’s collapse, but X-Men had the it factor. Including characters and story arcs from the Nineties run of X-Men is a great choice.

Okay. Now, let’s talk about “Days of Past Future.” X-Men ’97 picks up immediately where the first season concludes. Apocalypse returns. Yay! X-Men ’97 continues to include characters from that Nineties run of X-Men comics. Brilliant! We’re going to go into more minor spoilers for “Days of Past Future.” You’ve been warned. Mother Askani (1993-1994) has a deceptive name. She’s actually Rachel Summers, Jean Grey and Cyclops’s daughter, from a different timeline. In fact, she is able to manipulate the timestream, so X-Men ’97’s reveal that Mother Askani was the one who sent the two X-Men teams into the past and future to stop Apocalypse makes sense with the original comic book. The show takes liberties. This isn’t a one-to-one, but I like Mother Askani’s inclusion.

Mother Askani harkens to a 1994 mini-series (The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix), where Jean and Cyclops bond with a young Nathan Summers (Cable). Even better, the tail end of X-Men ’97 season one foreshadowed that Jean and Cyclops’s relationship with their son would be explored. X-Men ’97 kept its promise in “Days of Past Future.” I can’t say enough great things about this series. I squeed. I did, and we get another season of episodes after this one airs. Yay!

Most of “Days of Past Future” focuses on the X-Men team sent into the future. I’m reviewing these episodes as I watch them, so there may be a few things I don’t notice in one episode that will become more important in the next. I love the direction X-Men ’97 is taking Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Cable (Nathan). X-Men ’97 has done a lot with fleshing out Cable’s backstory. The original X-Men Animated Series showed Cable as a random guy trying to save his future. Heck, Deadpool 2 portrayed Nathan Summers in a similar light. I liked both depictions of Cable. But X-Men ’97 has given Cable depth.

Supposition time: X-Men ’97 season two will build toward the classic X-Men Event, Age of Apocalypse. Sure, X-Men ’97 season two is borrowing elements from Age of Apocalypse, but I believe the animated series will fully embrace Age of Apocalypse with its following season. The post-apocalyptic world where Mother Askani exists paved the way for Age of Apocalypse. Fans and the writers enjoyed a world in the distant future without the X-Men and controlled by Apocalypse, so they wanted a world with the X-Men and controlled by Apocalypse (Age of Apocalypse). We’re only getting a taste of Age of Apocalypse this season. We’ll have to wait until the tail end of season two or next season to meet Sugar Man.

Those are my thoughts on X-Men ’97 “Days of Past Future.” Let’s see what Season thinks.

Season’s Take

I’m also watching these episodes one at a time before reviewing them, so we’ll see what I pick up on in future episodes. I’m a sucker for familial relationships being explored, and “Days of Past Future” did that more than I thought it would. A lot of characters were featured in “Days of Past Future,” but they each got adequate screen time. Actually, it’s more like each character was given plenty of depth despite the episode only being thirty-three minutes. I’ve never read Age of Apocalypse, so I’m unfamiliar with the plot. I know. I need to up my comic book game.

I’m excited to see where X-Men ’97 takes us next. I’m a huge fan of Rogue, so any chance I get to see her in action is amazing. I’m not the biggest fan of her voice in X-Men ’97, though. Girl, cough. Or, like, clear your throat.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Those are our thoughts on X-Men ’97: Days of Past Future.” Feel free to share yours in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.